1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cable management devices and, more particularly, to cable management devices for managing electrical cables extending from rack-mounted computer servers.
2. Description of the Related Art
For convenience and to conserve floor space, computer servers for high capacity computer systems are often mounted in rack structures. Typically, several computer servers are mounted in each server rack. Some types of businesses, for example, website service providers and online merchants, may have hundreds of computer servers mounted in dozens of different rack structures.
Each server rack generally includes a rectangular frame covered by removable panels in a pivotable front access door. Each server is typically supported within the server rack on a tray or chassis. The chassis is mounted on a pair of slides to allow the chassis to slide in and out of the server rack for convenient access to the server. Each slide is comprised of a stationary portion which is mounted to the frame of the server rack, and a telescoping portion which is mounted to the chassis. The telescoping portion is slideable with respect to the stationary portion to allow the chassis to slide in and out of the server rack for repair or replacement of the server.
To allow the server and chassis to slide in and out of the server rack, slack must be provided in the electrical cables leading to the server. Because several computer servers are typically stacked on top of one another in the server rack, the cables can hang down from one server to another. This can result in tangling of the cables as the servers are moved in and out of the server rack. If the cables leading to the server are tangled, it becomes difficult to slide the server in and out of the server rack to access the server. In addition, tangling of the cables may result in a cable being pulled out or unplugged from the server, possibly resulting in downtime of the server or loss of data.
To help alleviate this problem, cable management devices have been developed. These cable management devices typically include a support, usually made of metal or plastic, having one end attached to the server rack and one end attached to a rear surface of the computer server. The support is folded as the server is moved into the server rack, and unfolded as the server is moved out of the server rack. The cables leading to the server are attached to the support by separate tie straps so that the cables are folded and unfolded along with the support as the server slides in and out of the server rack. The tie straps are typically of the general purpose variety, and each tie straps extends around both the cables and the support.
While such cable management devices have served to reduce tangling of the electrical cables leading to the servers, they have proven inconvenient and time-consuming to install. In situations where reduction of downtime of the computer servers is critical, such as in Internet applications, the amount of time required to install cable management devices can be of great importance. This is especially true for very high capacity computer systems which comprise a large number of computer servers and thus require a large number of cable management devices. In addition, the tie straps of such cable management devices tend to slide along the length of the support and to gather at certain locations of the support, thereby causing unwanted slack in the cables.
In military applications, supporting mechanical structures (e.g., slides, brackets, cable management systems) generally need to be able to withstand harsh environmental conditions, such as shock and vibration due to explosions, as well as other extremes. Additionally, electronic boxes (e.g., servers, data storage units, etc) used in military applications are often smaller and more cost-effective, but have comparable computing performance and reliability of larger, more expensive systems. Accordingly, it is desirable for cable management devices used in military operations to be rugged and help protect electronic boxes mounted in a frame from shock and vibration by transferring such loads onto surrounding mechanical structures (e.g., rack frame) that are better suited to withstand such loads. Additionally, it is desirable to have cable management devices suitable for use with smaller electronic boxes.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved cable management system that solves some of the problems discussed above.